Dashes of Kamkueyhttp://www.kamkuey.com
Insights to a Photo FreakFri, 26 Feb 2016 14:54:04 +0000http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4enWhat’s Important?http://www.kamkuey.com/2016/02/26/whats-important/
http://www.kamkuey.com/2016/02/26/whats-important/#commentsFri, 26 Feb 2016 14:54:03 +0000kamkueyRamblinghttp://www.kamkuey.com/2016/02/26/whats-important/There seems to be many things in life which are important, but we do not have enough time, energy and effort to attend to those things which are important to us. As as we get mature, and as we climb higher in the corporate ladder, and as we add more things in out lives, we have more and more important things.

We continue to pay attention to those things which have more values. However, as we grow, so does out responsibilities. Work, spouse, family. We might drop some of them off. Like for example how we love to conquer the gaming world, or take long rides on our motorcycles. Or have a 3-day fishing trip off shore. It may be taking that bi-annual backpacking holiday.

Some of theses ‘important’ things may no longer serve anything of value to us. So we drop them, so that we may concentrate on those which brings more values.

Neglecting your pet doggie? Maybe?

It’s sad, but its the truth.

]]>http://www.kamkuey.com/2016/02/26/whats-important/feed/Wedding Photography Fee too High?http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/11/19/wedding-photography-fee-too-high/
http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/11/19/wedding-photography-fee-too-high/#commentsWed, 19 Nov 2014 03:01:24 +0000kamkueyUncategorizedhttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/11/19/wedding-photography-fee-too-high/I came across an interesting article recently. This photographer wrote on his blog about his recent experience with one particular client, or would be client, who wrote a nasty email about how his exorbitant photography fee is a deal breaker. The client was comparing his peers’ hourly salary against the photographer’s high per hour fee, which was a deal breaker, and demanded a lower fee.

This is the main issue with most clients, even here in Malaysia. A photographer’s fee is usually compared to the likes of standard everyday Joes working a 9 to 5 job.

Let’s do a Malaysian version.

Assuming an office worker with a salary of RM5k, and that he works 8 hours a week, and assuming a 22-working day a month. That adds up to RM28.41 per hour.

A photographer, let’s say a wedding photographer who charges RM3k for an actual day wedding with an assistant who gets paid RM800. Then there’s the album cost of RM600.

So, the photographer gets paid RM1,600.00 for his services.

And just to let you know, just because you see the photographer for about 8-10 hours that wedding day, does not mean he only works 8-10 hours for the wedding. A typical wedding starts early in the morning. Very early in the morning. Firstly, he gets up early and prepares himself to arrive at the bride’s location by 7.30am to take preparation photos, photos of the bride getting ready, with the make up artist putting on the make up and doing the hair do. After the bride has put on her gown, he pulls her aside to take beautiful portraits of her. Then the groom arrives and the games and tea ceremony begins. Basically he, and his assistant, wraps up the morning session probably at about 1pm. He then rushes back to prepare for the slide show.

He downloads the RAW photos from the memory cards, backs them up and then starts the sorting and selection process before preparing them for the slideshow. The entire process until the slideshow is exported, takes roughly 5 hours. All the while, he is stuffing in his lunch in between. At 6pm, he has to rush off to the dinner reception. And while his assistant covers the outside of the dinner hall, the photographer is inside with the banquet team, testing the slideshow and ensuring the projector is ready, and tuned properly in terms of brightness, color and contrast. Then the dinner starts, and ends nearing midnight.

The photographer goes home, and before he could hop into the shower, he downloads that night’s photos and backs them up. By the time he is able to lay his head down, it’s already 2am.

Let’s do bit of calculation, yes? He starts his day at 7.30am. Let’s not take into consideration his preparation time, you know, getting his gear ready, ensuring batteries are fully charged and things like that.

And basically he is working through out the day (although you do not see him), until 1am (minus his shower time and all that). That’s 17 hours in total working hours for that day only. Then comes photo selection, sorting and processing. That normally takes an estimated 10 hours to complete the entire batch. Plus the additional 3 hours to design and prepare the photo album.

So roughly 30 hours for the entire job. And that’s a very modest calculation. And with an income of RM1.6k, that translate to RM53.33 per hour.

Comparing that to the rm28.41 per hour of an average office employee, it seems like double the amount. But, there’s a lot more to consider.

Firstly, the photographer has to purchase his own equipment. For example, his cameras (main and second camera), his various lenses, flashes and memory cards. He also has to purchase his own computer. And on top of that, he has to pay rent, pay for insurance, water and electricity bills. His transportation, parking and toll. Not to mention his own coffee and creamer.

And average office employee has no overhead. His computer, electricity, water and coffee are all taken care of by his company, including rent.

So the next time you have the urge to think about how exorbitant photographer’s fee are, remember these calculations.

Oh, and since we are already in this topic, let’s do a little breakdown on his initial ‘investment’ in order to have a photography business. This is just a standard wedding photographer.

Then a nice computer to be able to handle the workload – RM5k. UPS backup power – RM1k. Data backup system – RM2k. Color correction device for monitor – RM1k.

Total computer costs : RM8k

That leads up to a grand total of RM 59.5k.

This does not include other equipment such as studio strobes, stands, backdrops, wireless controllers and all that. RM59.5k is purely the gear required for a standard wedding assignment. And these have not been taken into consideration when calculating per hour fee, cos we are not financial people.

Of course, the financial guru in some of you might argue the depreciation value and staggered purchases and such, but let’s just stick to simple calculations. We are not financial people and are just straight forward money out and money in kind of people.

So there. The next time want to say “FUAH!! very expensive la”, stop and think again ya.

Oh, by the way, I just recalled; it’s not very fair if you compare an office employee’s per hour fee based on his monthly salary. A company will charge a different rate when charging for consultation or when calculating project fee. To be very modest, a company will charge man hour fee at 1.8 times an employee’s salary. This means, someone with an hourly salary of RM28.41, his ‘project fee’ would be RM51.14. Well, that is just RM2 shy of the photographer’s hourly fee.

So anyways, just want to put this out there.

Oh.. and its hard work also ok. Sometimes having to be under the hot sun the entire day, or..

Recently, there’s a new challenge going about Facebook. Basically, a simple challenge of posting up a black and white photo each day for 5 days and nominating one other person to take up the challenge.

Most of the photos were dug out from the deep recesses of my backup hard drive. This one in particular was probably taken a long time ago, when I first got my ultra wide angle lens and decided to take a photo of the sun peeking from behind the cloud, casting a spray of light beams.

This one I like to entitle ‘Pray’. But I am thinking Hope would better. No?

Taken somewhere between Albany and Perth. I was trying to capture the setting sun, but my brother was in the frame. I asked him to move aside for a bit but he gave me this pose before walking out of frame. Somehow it adds a bit more character to the photo.

Another photo taken in Australia, this time I remember this place, Busselton.

Somehow, sometimes, black and white photos leaves a bit more to the imagination. I find that black and white photos have a bit more character, a bit more edge to it. But that’s just me.

]]>http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/11/02/black-white-photos/feed/Fanboyshttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/10/08/fanboys/
http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/10/08/fanboys/#commentsWed, 08 Oct 2014 01:41:24 +0000kamkueyRamblinghttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/10/08/fanboys/The latest issue of the new iPhone 6 Plus be a bit bendy has created headlines. It has also spurred heated debates and arguments all over social media. You see a lot of postings on facebook and other social media about the iphone’s bendy feature and it’s features which is similar to a 2004 phone from a rival company.

So what is it about this issue, and many other iphone’s lacking of something, that is so heated? Does it really matter that the iphone does not have a bigger screen? Or now that it has, does it matter that it now has a bigger screen?

It should not matter since you obviously will not be buying an iphone.

It does not matter at all. But… what matters is the fact that the iphone fanboys talk about the iphone as if it’s an object sent down to earth by the gods for us mere mortals. An object to be worshipped as we mere mortals are not worthy of it.

That is the issue.

The iphone is a splendid phone. I would be using an iphone if it was not that expensive. It’s really out of my budget for a phone. I do have an ipad though, and had an imac and would probably be getting a macbook soon. So Apple do come out with splendid products, the iphone included. I am a fan of phones, regardless of who made the phone. Some phones lack certain features, some phones have more features. Just like WindowsPhone, it’s lacking in many ways compared to it’s rivals. But it’s a wonderful phone to use. I have used almost all makes of phones. From Nokia to Motorola, to Samsung and Xiaomi and almost everything in between.

This includes the Blackberry Bold 3 (actually Bold 2 as well).

As well as the Nokia E61, the grandfather of this E72.

I am guilty of making fun of the iphone and it’s features. But that is just it… fun. When I make fun of the iphone, I am actually making fun of those fanboys. Knowing that they will get upset and try to defend the iphone.

I’ve got news for you fanboys, there is nothing fun to make out of the iphone. It’s you that people make fun of.

Oh.. and this goes to all fanboys. Regardless if you are a fanboy of the iphone or any other phone for that matter. There’s more to the world of smartphones than just your tiny little world of whatever phone you have on the alter with incense, oranges, myrrh or suckling pig offers.

For the past couple of years, independent coffee cafes have sprout all over the Klang Valley like lalang grass. The boom in people having a deeper interest in good quality coffee have increased tremendously. To these people, chain cafes like Starbucks and Coffee Bean does not cater to their palate. They crave something a little bit more personal, a coffee which entices their palate instead of the same old chained coffee pulled from standard operating procedures or baristas trained to operate the coffee machine in a certain way.

These people want a better coffee.

So what’s a better coffee?

Well, for sure it is not about the name of the shop serving you coffee. It certainly is not about how nice or extravagant the coffee art is. Is it about the coffee itself? Is it the bean or where is it’s origins? Maybe the year or the month the bean was harvested? Or could it be the skills of the barista in handling the coffee and the coffee machine. Is it in the cup? Or is it the cup itself? Or maybe the temperature of the cup, or the water used? Speaking of water, does it make a difference in a cup of coffee? Maybe distilled water brings out better coffee?

Well, to tell you the truth, this is just the beginning of my coffee journey. Can I tell you that this coffee is better than the other one? No, I can’t. But I can tell you if I enjoyed that particular cup of coffee or not. That cup of coffee might be made from the most expensive bean, pulled from the most expensive machine by the most experienced barista, but if I did not enjoy it, it’s going to be bad coffee to me.

Similarly, that photo of a nice cup of coffee from Jementah, I had it at a coffee shop and it was one of the most enjoyable coffee I had to date. I am sure it’s not the best bean used. But it was tasty, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the other one which I particularly enjoyed. It’s an instant latte. Empty the sachet into a cup, and add hot water.

The instant latte came with this, a little tube to sprinkle some chocolate powder over your latte. Nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

And here’s how I usually like to enjoy my coffee, with a nice piece of cake.

But… my days of consuming standard coffee may be numbered as I venture deeper into the ‘premium’ coffee world. Or maybe i should just remain where I am now, contended with standard coffee. Well, maybe the occasional premium coffee or two. Premium coffee is not cheap with a standard ‘black coffee’ being a standard RM8 a cup compared to RM1.60 for a standard ‘black coffee’ at the kopitiam.

By the way, there’s a difference between black coffee and the ‘black coffee’ served at premium coffee cafes. Something about the way the coffee is prepared. But that we leave for another time.

In the mean time, bring on the coffee and cakes!!

]]>http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/12/coffee-anyone/feed/The Apple iPhonehttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/11/the-apple-iphone/
http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/11/the-apple-iphone/#commentsThu, 11 Sep 2014 03:03:14 +0000kamkueyRamblingReviewshttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/11/the-apple-iphone/So, Apple just lifted the veil and introduced their all new iPhones. This time, they revealed 2 different models, namely the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. The first being a 4.7” smartphone while the Plus features a 5.5” screen. Both are identical in terms of specifications. Of course, for both models, you have a choice of storage capacities.

Oh.. and they too launched the all new iWatch. But we shall leave that for later.

But here lies the issue for Apple, their hardware specifications are actually quite behind in terms of progress. While most of their competitors are already sporting similar specifications back in 2012, Apple is only now introducing the same level of specifications now, a whole 2 years later. What kind of specs? Well, namely the dual core processor, the 1GB RAM, and the 750p screen resolution of their 4.7” iPhone 6. The Nexus 4, launched in 2012 had that specs. And while the rest of the world is leading 1080 FHD screen behind, the 5.5” iPhone 6 screen is the first FHD screen smartphone from the company.

But let’s view it from a practical point of view.

Apple has been producing quality products since its first started, with a few exceptions. But iPhones are not the exceptions. Oh.. well.. the latest batch of iphones are not the exceptions anyways. I particularly like the form factor and the build quality of iPhones. They fit in the hands well, and they are the most solid and well built phones ever. Granted they might be heavy for their size, but that shouts quality. The 4” screen of previous iphones have been relatively small compared to the huge screen sizes of their competitors, but they really do fit in the hands pretty nicely. Remember that it’s still a phone, not a tablet. Most manufacturers now blur the lines between phone and a tablet, with some calling the huge smartphones a phablet instead. Samsung first introduced their Galaxy Note smartphone, and a lot of people say that it’s too big, but it has been a huge hit amongst users, with their latest Galaxy Note 4 sporting a massive 5.7” screen. Nokia pushed it even further with their Lumia 1520 with its 6” screen. Massive device.

So anyway, I see the iPhone 6 as a whole new category by itself. I personally would buy and use the iPhone purely for it’s simplicity. Also for it’s design and build quality. The only thing stopping me getting the iPhone is it’s cost. It’s ridiculously over priced.

It may suit your budget, then by all means go get the iphone. In terms of functionality, I still prefer Android-based phones. But those functionalities are not extremely crucial for me, so I can still use the iPhone runing iOS. It’s does what I want from a smartphone. It does social media, it takes photos, and it runs all the chat applications I am using. And it has Waze, something I use very often.

So it does not really matter what the specifications are. They maybe only running a dual core processor and a 1GB RAM, but it does it’s job. Put it to you this way, why are you still driving a car with a 1.6 (or 2.0 or 2.4) 4 cylinder engine when there’s a 6.2L V12 engine? Different requirements, different expectations.

You have to remember, if not for Apple pushing out their smartphones, the rest of us would probably still be using standard phones with keypads. Surely others have introduced smartphones before the iPhone, but it was the iPhone which catapulted the need for a touch screen smart phone which launched the race for better smartphones.

So give it a break, the iPhone (iphone 4 onwards… ) is has one of the best smartphone implementations around. It’s just that the fanboys that over glorifies the phone, and tries to give excuses for the lack of some specifications or features which gets to me.. and to most people.

Fanbois, no need for excuses. The iPhone speaks for itself. Of course, for the hardcore fellas, the iphone is tremendously lacking. But for the the majority of smartphone users who has no need to root or load custom ROM or massive processing power, it’s one of the easiest smartphones to use. Too bad it’s not the easiest on the wallet.

]]>http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/11/the-apple-iphone/feed/An Alternative Viewhttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/03/an-alternative-view/
http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/03/an-alternative-view/#commentsWed, 03 Sep 2014 02:05:24 +0000kamkueyRamblinghttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/03/an-alternative-view/I recently came across this article which was rather interesting. It gave an alternate view of us as a whole, in terms of religion, believe as well as the entire concept of evolution and life itself.

This article did not shake my faith in God. Neither did it manage to affect my believe that God made the universe in 6 days and rested on the 7th day, or that God made Adam and then Eve to accompanying Adam. I still believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He was sent to earth to save us. So as a Christian, my faith was not shaken.

But the article is an interesting read. It could be what is happening. Could be. None of us can absolutely say that it’s not, because none of us has ever witnessed or experienced what happened after we die. Surely there’s people who had died, went to heaven and even taken a walk with Jesus. But that’s their story, not yours and definitely not mine. Surely you may choose to believe their experience. Nothing wrong with that. That’s called faith, you believe in something which someone else told you about. Just like the faith you have when they told you God created the universe, or when you were told of the story of the Man from Nazareth, who healed people, fed thousands with just some bread and fish and walked on water. That is faith, believing in something which you do not have physical evidence, or believing without seeing.

I want to say again that my faith in God remains steadfast, but the following article is a rather interesting read.

The Egg – Andy Weir

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did. It gave me an alternate view of how things could be. Keyword is COULD. This is not how things are, but could be.

]]>http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/09/03/an-alternative-view/feed/What Christian…?http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/08/06/what-christian/
http://www.kamkuey.com/2014/08/06/what-christian/#commentsWed, 06 Aug 2014 02:26:46 +0000kamkueyUncategorizedhttp://www.kamkuey.com/2014/08/06/what-christian/What would your reaction be, if I came up to you and told you a very detailed account of how I was brought up to Heaven and was given a grand tour by Jesus?

You would probably think that I am nuts.

But, what happens, if I get two other people to agree with me, that I am the real thing, and that my account of Heaven is true? What about 20 other people? Maybe 200? Then it becomes sort of a legend of sorts. Something which, 200 people collectively assured you that there’s truth behind the story.

Then, maybe you might be thinking…. "If 200 plus people agree and believes that its true, maybe its true"

Then, to make thing even more interesting, 2 or 3 from the group of that 200 people are the ones who helped you through your emotional crisis. You maybe have some issues with your family, some hidden agenda lost over the years, but was brought up during counselling sessions or during a prayer meet. Something in your past, or present which you cannot let go. Or something which you did that many years ago which you regretted and have all the while harboured in your heart, afraid of letting it out and other people finding it out.

These people came along and basically told you to "screw it" and let it go. For example, you had a real bad relationship with your father, or mother, who had taken care of you since young, but you brushed them aside because of that one thing they did, which to them was for your own betterment, but to you is like a total and utter invasion of privacy and totally inappropriate and had not forgiven them all these while. Easy, they tell you… let it go.. it is eating you up inside.

It’s just that easy. Any other person will tell you the very same thing, even that mamak flipping your daily morning chapatti.

Then you let go, and finally you feel at peace. You no longer have that heavy burden in your heart. It’s natural. It’s psychological. Not having some age old issue to bear all these while will be a great relieve. But you thought the 2-3 people were instrumental in bringing the glory of God down and relieve you of your burden.

So you look at these 2 person and believe whole heartedly "wow.. they are god-sent, someone to fall back on since they know what to do, and whatever they say must be the truth".

So when these 2-3 person told you about someone having went to heaven and back, and together with the other 200 odd people, you immediately accept it as the absolute truth. And you try to share it with your loved ones, who immediately look at you one kind, and brush you off while they switch the topic to the latest episode of Korean drama. Then you think, "what did I do wrong, why do these people not believe me when I told them about the truth?"

So you go back to the same 2-3 people or maybe a bit more this time, and unload you issue. And they tell you, "well, maybe they are not ready for the truth, maybe the devil have pull a spiritual blinder across their eyes".

And then all you heard was the word ‘the devil’. and there goes everything with those loved ones who was more interested to chat about a korean drama than to listen to you. The word ‘the devil’ is burnt into your brain, and you think to yourself, ‘the devil is testing me, I must push on. I must not fail’. So you continue to tell them about the good news, but they do not respond, and they tend to distant themselves from you. And you think that the devil is snatching them away from you. However, there will be some, who genuinely love you. and are concern about you. So they approach you and ask you some stuff about how you have changed. But you are trained to put up a defensive wall, and to avoid answering questions.

Yes, you are trained. You have been trained. Sub-consciously, through the many times you spent having lunch and cell groups.

You instinctively put up a barrier, for the fear of being coerced with devil talk. Yeah, devil talk. Everything and everyone who is not within your ‘circle of holiness’ are all of the devil.

And all the while, your other half have already noticed your sudden change, and is very concern about you. He/she then tries to understand your situation, and tries to fit themselves into your current situation. They ask questions, not to because they want to disclaim your new believes, but to understand and to accept you and your changes, because they love you. But you see it as a challenge to them, a challenge cheered on by the devil himself to throw you off. You believe the devil is using your other half against you.

And it’s just the way you express yourself to the original 2-3 people, which gave them a totally out of context view or impression of your situation and the people you spoke to them about. And thus, wrong advise were given.

They are against you.

They are the devil.

The devil is using them to pull you away from your new faith.

And, like the say, the rest if history.

But let me be clear about something here. A lot of people think that I am anti-Christianity, because of this article. And also because I question some issues and believes which Christians practise. I am not challenging. I am just curious. I follow those practises. I believe in those practises and believes and all that. In my heart I truly believe, it is just that I am curious. That’s all. I do blindly follow… to a certain extend… but as I am blindly following, I am also very curious to why we are walking this way, and why that other way is not allowed. Surely I do not go the way which is not allowed, I am just curious to why.

A lot of people have asked me why this, and why that. It is difficult for me to explain why or how or when. Because I am not a biblical scholar and thus I do not know. But I trust and have faith.

A lot of people also do ask me why Christians blindly follow the pastor and listen to what he say. He is only a man. Human. Who ask him to stand up at the pulpit and speak? Who is he to tell me what God wants or do not want? The answer is, I do not know. But he is only a man who guides us. Guide. The keyword. Our relationship with God is personal. Sometimes we need someone to guide us in our relationship. Most of us do not know where to start. Most of us do not know God to begin with. So the church and the pastor is there to guide us, and to point us to the right direction. He is not there to tell us or to dictate us. If a pastor starts to dictate, then something is not right.

So what is the whole point of this article? Well, basically, the core issue of looking up to a man to dictate you on your journey in Christianity. Do not look up to a man as if he is God or a messenger of God. If God wants to speak to you, he does so in His own way. How? Well.. many. God do speak to you through a third party. Maybe He speaks to you through the Pastor. Maybe through that 2-3 people. But mostly, He speaks to you directly. Directly.. indirectly. But still directly.

Confused yet?

It’s quite easy actually. Being Christian only means one thing, that you believe and accept Jesus as your saviour. That’s the most important part. Then comes the other part; your daily life. And what about your daily life? Just one simple rule; Be Good.

That’s it. Be Good. It’s just that simple. Fundamentally, be good. Then the rest just falls into place.

What is the point of going to church every Sunday and cell group every Tuesday and Thursday, and night prayer every Friday when fundamentally you are rotten to the core when it comes to treating your friends and neighbours, and your relatives?

What is the point of praying so hard, you start sweating beads or shouting out praises until you have a sore throat when you look at a group of people and judge them?

No need for anything complicated. Just start with the fundamental; be good. Start there, and work your way up.

The prices of cameras are getting more and more affordable. My first excursion into the digital SLR camera saw the cheapest one to be RM 15k. Right now you probably can get one entry DSLR for 1/10th of the price.

And with the lower cost of ownership, big bulky DSLR are replacing point and shoot cameras. You see many people lugging around a DSLR in a shopping centre or for a simple meal or coffee. And with that, the number of DSLR owners have increased substantially, same goes to ‘critics’.

So here’s my view on photos.

Your photos are yours. When you release that shutter, you have in your mind how and what that particular shot should look like.

You need not explain your photograph. A good photo should not need an explanation. Neither should your photo. If it does not make sense to others, who cares. What’s more important is that it makes sense to you.

Sometimes a flaw in a photograph is what you like about it. Maybe that particular mole on the model’s collar bone reminds you of a certain memory. It could be the fringes of her hair that falls over her eyes which makes your photo click with you. Maybe that over exposed part of the photograph works for you.

So, photography is a mix of science and art. A bit difficult to put a finger on it. Photography makes use of science to capture the image, but you use art to determine what appears in the image, and how it appears in it.

So bring out that camera, any camera and start taking photos. And share them with your friends, or on social media, or on photo sharing sites. Let the critics flow in. Take criticisms, learn from them if they make sense. You have to remember that there are many ‘critics’ out there who do not know what the hell they are talking about.

But on the other hand, if you are a professional photographer, or if you are taking photos for money, then take good care that your photos makes sense to your clients. Throw in some of your ‘artistic’ shots, but only to compliment they ‘safe’ shots.

Sometimes I tend to be a bit tied up and neglect this blog of mine. Not to say that there’s lots of traffic into this blog, but I would like to keep it open, keep it active.

This is the season where the weather gets incredibly hot, and humid. And this is the time when electricity bills skyrocket to new heights with all the air cond running longer and harder than before.

The walls of our houses emit heat, even a night. And tap waters come out warm. At least it we need not use the water heater anymore. Would be nice to use cold water, or rather standard unheated water to shower during these period of extreme weather.